Verizon FiOS Quantum official: 300Mbps fiber

Verizon has launched its new FiOS Quantum broadband internet service, offering up to 300Mbps downloads and up to 65Mbps uploads along with digital TV and phone packages. The new service - which Verizon says could download a 5GB Full HD movie in just 2.2 minutes - doesn't come cheap however, with plans stretching all the way to a whopping $210 per month.

That's based on a two-year agreement for the maximum-speed FiOS Quantum service. If you're content to "make do" with 150Mbps downloads instead of 300Mbps (and the same 65Mbps upload rate) then you can pare it down by more than 50-percent, to "just" $100 per month.

Cheaper packages offer 75/35Mbps for $90 per month, and then carry on down the scale trading speed for price as you'd expect. All plans come with a wireless router - exact model may vary, Verizon warns - and the installation process will involve fitting a new fiber terminal box to the outside of your house and then any necessary wall jacks inside.

Add-ons include FiOS TV Prime HD, with various on-demand services, and of course phone service. You'll need to be in a fiber-to-the-home supported area, of course, and can check whether you're eligible for the high-speed service at Verizon's site.